China to work with UAE for affordable COVID-19 vaccines; Foreign Minister

By Shilpa Annie Joseph, Official Reporter
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COVID-19 Vaccine
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Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi has stated that their country wants to cooperate with the UAE to speed up the production of COVID-19 vaccines, to make them more widely available and affordable.

The joint efforts can also explore developing multilateral cooperation to combat the pandemic, especially with Middle Eastern and African countries, as well as establishing an international framework to make travel easier for people, as per the minister.

Wang Yi
Wang Yi
Foreign Minister – China

“We will deepen the communication and cooperation with the UAE to preserve peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf. We welcome the UAE’s effective and constructive role in regional affairs. We have been cooperating together on COVID-19 vaccines, conventional energy, the economy, trade, investment, 5G, Big Data, AI and other high-tech tools, and infrastructure. These efforts did not only benefit the Chinese and UAE people but the entire world in its fight against the pandemic. The cooperation between the UAE and China during the COVID-19 pandemic symbolizes the deep trust between the two countries.”

The foreign minister has noted that China-UAE cooperation has advanced to a new stage after both countries completed phase III clinical trials on the world’s first inactivated COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the reports, the first vaccine approved for emergency use within the UAE was the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine. The UAE became was the first country in the world to approve the vaccine on December 9, 2020, after initiating its trial in the country on June 23, 2020.

“We are confident that because of the bilateral efforts between China and the UAE, there would be more and better results in fighting the pandemic,” the minister said.

“The bilateral relations between the two countries are becoming stronger. As the containment of the current pandemic and precaution measures are progressing, and as Dubai Expo is approaching, we are certain that the UAE would still be an important destination for the Chinese tourists,” he further added.

Related: Abu Dhabi-based Rafed, G42 Healthcare unite for swift COVID-19 vaccine logistics

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